BILL NUMBER: AJR 42	CHAPTERED  08/30/00

	RESOLUTION CHAPTER   121
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   AUGUST 30, 2000
	ADOPTED IN SENATE   AUGUST 22, 2000
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY   APRIL 24, 2000
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   APRIL 24, 2000

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Alquist
   (Coauthors:  Assembly Members Aroner, Bock, Calderon, Cardenas,
Cardoza, Cedillo, Corbett, Correa, Davis, Ducheny, Dutra, Firebaugh,
Florez, Gallegos, Havice, Hertzberg, Honda, Jackson, Kaloogian,
Keeley, Knox, Kuehl, Lempert, Longville, Lowenthal, Machado,
Maldonado, Mazzoni, Migden, Nakano, Papan, Pescetti, Reyes, Romero,
Scott, Shelley, Steinberg, Strom-Martin, Torlakson, Washington,
Wayne, Wesson, and Wiggins)

                        FEBRUARY 18, 2000

   Assembly Joint Resolution No. 42--Relative to a Medicare
prescription drug benefit.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AJR 42, Alquist.  Relative to Medicare prescription drug benefit.
   This measure would memorialize Congress to enact and implement the
Voluntary Medicare Prescription-Drug Benefit contained in the
President's Fiscal Year 2001 Budget.




   WHEREAS, The Assembly Committee on Aging and Long-Term Care
conducted a hearing on November 17, 1999, that found the cost of
prescription drugs is a tremendous burden for seniors because more
than three in five American seniors lack dependable prescription drug
coverage; and
   WHEREAS, The committee learned that pharmaceutical therapies have
become crucial in the treatment of major illnesses and in saving,
lengthening, and enriching lives; and
   WHEREAS, Unlike virtually all private health plans, Medicare does
not cover prescription drugs; and
   WHEREAS, Millions of older Americans who are most in need of
prescription drugs must pay the highest prices for them; and
   WHEREAS, Some seniors pay as much as $500 per month in
prescription drug costs, forcing them to decide between medication
and other vital necessities such as food; and
   WHEREAS, Medicare beneficiaries comprise 12% of the United States
population but account for one-third of prescription drug spending;
and
   WHEREAS, The President's Fiscal Year 2001 Budget would provide
funds adequate to give every senior the choice of having affordable
Medicare insurance coverage for prescription drugs with first-year
premiums of $26 per month and lower or nonexistent premiums for those
with low incomes; and
   WHEREAS, There would be no deductible and the President's plan
would be optional and voluntary for Medicare beneficiaries; and
   WHEREAS, Discounts from pooling beneficiaries' purchasing power
could be privately negotiated under the plan; and
   WHEREAS, The coverage would pay for half of the each beneficiary's
drug costs from the first prescription filled each year up to $5,000
when fully phased in, with discounts that continue after the limit
is reached; and
   WHEREAS, The program would be competitively administered through a
private benefit manager without price controls or a new bureaucracy
by integrating the benefit into the current eligibility and
enrollment systems; and
   WHEREAS, With savings, the net cost of the President's proposals
would be less than $100 billion over 10 years; and
   WHEREAS, The President's proposal supports the findings of the
Assembly Committee on Aging and Long-Term Care; therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Assembly and Senate of the State of California,
jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California urges the
federal government to take immediate and appropriate steps to enact
and implement the Voluntary Medicare Prescription-Drug Benefit
contained in the President's Fiscal Year 2001 Budget; and be it
further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United
States, each Senator and Representative from California in the
Congress of the United States, and the Secretary of the United States
Department of Health and Human Services.
